Theater Studies professor Jody McAuliffe directed an undergraduate cast in Henrik Ibsen's classic drama The Wild Duck for the department's mainstage in fall of 2016. Ibsen, one of the most influential dramatists since Shakespeare, wrote the play in 1884. McAuliffe selected a new version by playwright David Eldridge that premiered in 2005. The cast featured Duke undergraduates Will Burns, Melissa Carrico, Brandon Dawson, Ashley Ericson, Will Francis, Chaz Hawkins, Peishu Li, George Lucas, and Valerie Muensterman, with Hunter Stark as stage manager. Theater Studies professor Torry Bend designed the set and NC theater artists Sonya Drum and Roz Fulton designed costumes and lighting, respectively. The show ran November 11-20, 2016.
Following the Nov. 18th performance, the audience was invited to stay for a conversation between the director and Professor Toril Moi, author of Henrik Ibsen and the Birth of Modernism.
Should the truth be pursued whatever the cost? The idealistic son of a wealthy businessman seeks to expose his father’s duplicity and to free his childhood friend from the lies on which his happy home life is based. The Wild Duck—"electrifying, shocking and profoundly moving"-- with its innovative symbolism and its touching portrait of a fourteen-year-old girl held in thrall by her feckless father is one of Ibsen’s most frequently staged plays.
Production Photos by Les Todd
Cast, Crew and Design Team
Cast (in order of appearance)
- Peishu Li (Petterson, servant to Håkon Werle)
- Brandon Dawson (Jensen, a hired waiter)
- George Lucas (Old Ekdal)
- Will Francis (Håkon Werle, a wholesale merchant)
- Chaz Hawkins (Gregers Werle, his son)
- Will Burns (Hjalmar Ekdal, Old Ekdal’s son)
- Valerie Muensterman (Mrs. Sorby, housekeeper to Håkon Werle)
- Melissa Carrico (Gina, Hjalmar’s wife)
- Ashley Ericson (Hedvig, their daughter)
- Peishu Li (Relling, a doctor)
- Brandon Dawson (Molvik, formerly a student of theology)
Production Team
- Jody McAuliffe Director
- Torry Bend Scenic designer
- Sonya Drum Costume designer
- Roz Fulton Lighting designer
- Benjamin Daniels Sound designer
- Madeleine Lambert Voice coach
- Kathleen Baum Movement specialist
- Tim Domack Props master
- Kathryn Veillette Scenic painter
- Lindsey Young Assistant lighting designer
Run Crew
- Hunter Stark Stage manager
- Tiffany Ho Assistant stage manager
- Bobby Lin Assistant stage manager
- Savion Elliot Assistant stage manager
- Camille Esnault light board operator
- Eli Shipman sound board operator
- Serene Cheng costume assistant/wardrobe crew
- Leif Hey props assistant
- Chelsea Southworth props/wardrobe crew
- Set construction crew: Chandler McMillan, Haley Enos, Michael Lewis, Jennifer Du, Veohnti Afokpa, Estelle He, Leif Hey, Peter Moran
Production Support from Theater Operations
- Marcy Edendfield production manager
- Rich Kless technical director
- David Berberian scene shop supervisor
- Kay Webb costume shop supervisor
- Jessica Reveal box office manager
Technicians: Leah Austin, Nick Bungato, Brian Hunt, John Kolba, Austin Powers, Nick Raffaele
Box office staff: Jessica Reveal, Leslie Fowler
Photography by Les Todd
Graphic design by Miel Design Studio
Videography by Alex Maness
Produced by Dierdre Shipman, Director of Theater for the Department of Theater Studies